INTRODUCTION

Purchasing a computer video card can sometimes be a very confusing and frustrating task. When purchasing a video card, it is important that you look at the available locations as pre-cautions before installing your new video card.

CONNECTION

When purchasing a computer video card, it is first important to look at the available connections your computer has to connect that video card into.

PC Computers will generally have the availability of three connections: AGP, PCI and ISA. Today, you will generally only want to consider and be able to find AGP or PCI video cards.

AGP AGP, or Advanced Graphics Port, is a new standard available on Pentium II and later motherboards. Introduced in 1997, AGP is a 32-bit Bus designed for high demanding video cards. AGP has a direct line to the computer memory, which allows 3-D elements to be stored in the system memory instead of the video memory.

PCI PCI, or Peripheral Component Interconnect, was first introduced in 1992. Today the PCI Bus is one of the more commonly used Buses in the PC computer.

ON-BOARD VIDEO ISSUES

Before installing a Video card, verify that your computer has an available location for the card to go into, or that your card currently installed can be removed and replaced with the new video card. In addition, be aware of potential issues when installing a new video card on a computer that has on-board video. See document CH000193 for additional information and suggestions.

MEMORY

Another important consideration when purchasing a video card is the amount of video memory that card contains. Like system memory, the more memory located on the computer video card, the higher the resolution and more efficient the video card is capable of running at.

3D ACCELERATION

With the advances in video acceleration, several types of 3D solutions are now available. If you plan on using your computer to play video games or do video acceleration, ensure that it supports at lease one of the below acceleration modes.

• OpenGL Originally developed by Silicon Graphics, there are now currently two available implementations of OpenGL. Microsoft OpenGL, developed by Microsoft, and Cosmo OpenGL, developed by Silicon Graphics.
• 3DFX GLIDE Proprietary API developed by 3DFX. To utilize Glide, you must purchase or own a card developed by 3DFX.
• Direct3D Software API developed by Microsoft and used on IBM computers to allow programs to write code to utilize whatever graphics card may be installed in the computer.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Some other important considerations to look at when purchasing a computer hard disk drive include:

Warranty How long is the warranty and what does it cover.

Support Is the technical support number a free number; is it open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

PRICE RANGE

The price range can vary depending upon the type of video card purchased, the interface used, the available options, and the type of 3-D acceleration, if any. Below is a listing of some examples of prices you are likely to see when purchasing a video card.

*All prices are estimated prices and are not quotes. When the video card is introduced the price will generally be higher. All prices are US Currency, prices may vary in different countries. All prices are based on new products and not those purchased refurbished or used.

READY TO PURCHASE

Once you have reviewed the appropriate information and believe that you are ready to make a purchase of a new video card, ensure that the source that you plan on purchasing the video card from is a reputable source and you have reviewed our section on what to look out for when purchasing over the Internet.

Computer Hope is ready to setup and help you with issues you may encounter during the purchase and installation of your video card, regardless if you purchase through us or another vendor. 

To help support Computer Hope you can purchase directly through our well-known associate, Amazon. Click the below browse button to begin browsing through the video card section.

VIDEO CARD INSTALLATION

Additional help and information about installing a computer video card and other computer hardware can be found through our Installation section.